''Vadakkumnadhan'' (

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

) is a 2006 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

-language

psychological drama Psychological drama or psychodrama is a sub-genre of drama that places emphasis on psychological elements. It often overlaps with other genres such as crime, fantasy, black comedy, and science fiction, and it is closely related with the psychologic ...

film directed by Shajoon Kariyal and written by

Gireesh Puthenchery Girish Puthenchery (1961–2010) was a noted Malayalam Lyricist, Poet, Scriptwriter and Screenwriter. He was always referred to as the aristocratic lyricist of Malayalam who had a distinctive writing style of his own. He also served as the dire ...

. It stars

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...

as Iringannoor Bharatha Pisharody, a university professor diagnosed with

Bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, the film also features

Padmapriya Padmapriya (born Padmalochani; died 16 November 1997) was an Indian actress who worked in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. Her first movie was in Telugu, ''Adapillala Tandri'' (1974). In Kannada, she debuted with ''Bangarada Gudi'' ...

and

Kavya Madhavan Kavya Madhavan (born 19 September 1984) is a former Indian actress, who appeared predominantly in Malayalam films. She made her debut in 1991 as a child artist in '' Pookkalam Varavayi''. Her debut role as a lead actress was in Lal Jose's '' ...

. The film's songs were composed by

Raveendran Madhavan Raveendran ( ml, മാധവൻ രവീന്ദ്രൻ ), (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), fondly known as ''Raveendran Master'', was a popular South Indian music composer a ...

, while

Ouseppachan Mechery Louis Ouseppachan (born 13 September 1955), known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State ...

provided the background score. The film is an unusual love story, taken by focusing and refocusing the lens of mental health and tolerance towards it in the society. ''Vadakkumnadhan'' released on 19 May 2006 received wide critical acclaim. The film was a commercial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year. It ran for more than 100 days in theatres.

Plot

Iringannoor Bharatha Pisharody, a professor at the Sanskrit University, is a knowledgeable man with a keen interest in the

Veda upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

Astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

and Kathakali, author of several critical works regarding

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

and winner of numerous awards. Meera is his fiancée by birth (''murapennu''), being the daughter of his maternal uncle Balarama Pisharody, and student. Bharathan is diagnosed with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

and he hides it from his family. Due to the same reason he does not encourage Meera's love for him. Despite of Bharathan's expressed dislike, both families agree to their wedding and dates are fixed. As the auspicious day dawns Bharathan becomes desperate and leaves home. As the bride arrives for the marriage, she and her family realizes to their utter dismay and desolation that the groom has disappeared. Gloom settles over the household. Meera is inconsolable. Years pass and Bharathan is considered to be dead, because he sent notice as such to his family. He roams around the holy shrines of

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the ri ...

Kedarnath Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarter. Kedarnath is the most remote of t ...

, Rishikesh and

Rudraprayag Rudraprayag is a town and a municipality in Rudraprayag district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Rudraprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, the point of confluence of rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini. K ...

. Then one day his mother and younger brother on a pilgrimage to the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

holy lands accidentally see Bharathan on the banks of the holy

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

. They convince him to return to his family. His family is happy to have him back. His brother Prabhakan (Biju Menon) is married and his sister Bhama was waiting to be married. Bharathan does not seem right and people think he is addicted to drugs. He causes a scene in his college and at Bhama's engagement, insulting the groom and his father. Probhakaran loses his cool and breaks his suitcase, only to find his reports from medical college saying that Bharathan suffers from Bipolar Disorder. Bharatan admits to faking a drug addiction to hide his disorder from them. He says it is like slipping while walking, the mind slips from its normal self. He tells them that he went to Keezhpalli Narayanan Nambeesan and told him about his problem. Like the boat which can carry a 100 people, and suddenly carries 1000, is how it feels to have this disorder. His brain is crowded with too many thoughts. He tells Meera that marriage will be a disaster and that is the reason why he decided to run away. Meera tells him that she will take care of him no matter what. Bharathan sets about making things right. He apologizes at his college and to Bhama's groom asking him to marry her. They agree on the condition that he would not be attending. He agrees and the wedding is arranged. After a lot of struggle, Bharathan convinces Meera's father to give her hand to him in marriage. Bharathan later accepts a position to be Sanskrit professor at the college. The last scene shows them going on a pilgrimage to the Vadukkunathan temple.

Cast

as Prof. Iringannoor Bharatha Pisharadi *

as Meera, daughter of Balarama Pisharadi ( voice by

Sreeja Ravi Sreeja Ravi is an Indian voice artist who has lent her dubbing voice to over 2000 films in total and also performed voices for numerous commercial ads. She started her dubbing career in the year 1975 for the movie '' Uttarayanam'', directed by ...

) * Biju Menon as Prabhakara Pisharadi *

as Bhama, sister of Bharathan (voice by

) *

Kaviyoor Ponnamma Kaviyoor Ponnamma is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She has also acted in TV serials and commercials and has playback singing cred ...

as Rugmavathi Amma, mother of Bharatha Pisharadi *

Babu Namboothiri Babu Namboothiri (born 12 August 1947) is a retired Chemistry Professor and Head Of Department of Deva Mata College Kuravilangad and an Indian film and TV actor who has starred in more than 100 Malayalam films and various serials. He is famous ...

as astrologer Govinda Pisharadi, maternal uncle of Bharatha Pisharadi * Murali as Balarama Pisharadi, maternal uncle of Bharatha Pisharadi *

Vineeth Vineeth Radhakrishnan (born 23 August 1969) is an Indian actor, classical dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. He has also starred in a few Kannada and Bollywood films. He h ...

as Parameshwaran *

Rizabawa Rizabawa (24 September 1966 – 13 September 2021) was an Indian actor who works predomiantly in Malayalam films and television. His breakthrough role was as a villain in the 1990 film '' In Harihar Nagar''. Since then, he acted as villain in ...

as Shankarankutty Master *

Shammi Thilakan Shammi Thilakan is an Indian actor and dubbing artist who is active in Malayalam films. He is the son of veteran actor Thilakan. He lent his voice for Napoleon in ''Devasuram'', Prem Nazir in ''Kadathanadan Ambadi'' and for Nassar in '' Gh ...

as Vishwanathan *

Madambu Kunjukuttan Madampu Sankaran Namboothiri (23 June 1941 − 11 May 2021), popularly known as Madampu Kunjukuttan, was a Malayalam actor, author and screenplay writer. Background and personal life Kunjukuttan was born in Kiralur village of Thrissur Dist ...

as Sharmaji *

Sadiq Sadiq is a male name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Ja'far al-Sadiq, the 8th-century Muslim scholar and scientist, considered as an Imam and founder of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence by Twelver and Isma'ili Shi’as, and a major f ...

as Gaffoor *

Sona Nair Sona Nair (born 4 March 1975) is an Indian actress working mainly in Malayalam cinema who is also best known for roles in television soaps. Personal life Sona Nair attended Al-Uthuman Higher Secondary School, Kazhakoottam, Trivandrum, wher ...

as Latha * Sreeja Chandran as Lakshmi * Bindu Ramakrishnan * Freddy * Ananthapadmanabhan as Keezhpally Narayanan Nambeesan

Soundtrack

This is the last movie work of

. The lyrics were penned by

Reception

Box office

The film was a commercial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year. It ran for more than 100 days in theatres.

Awards

; Filmfare Awards * Best Male Playback Singer - Dr. K. J. Yesudas * Best Female Playback Singer - K. S. Chithra * Best Music Director -

(Posthumous) * Best Lyricist -

* Best Script Writer -

;

Asianet Film Awards The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says that awards ceremony has been instituted to honour both artis ...

* Best Music Director -

(Posthumous) * Best Lyricist -

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0425610 2000s Malayalam-language films 2006 films 2000s musical drama films Films about bipolar disorder Indian psychological drama films Films scored by Raveendran Indian romantic drama films Films scored by Ouseppachan Films directed by Shajoon Kariyal 2000s psychological drama films 2006 romantic drama films Films shot in Thrissur